A new version of Microsoft Office designed for the iPad is rumored to arrive on the App Store soon, as hands-on impressions with the suite have been shared online, though Microsoft has called the information "inaccurate" [updated].

News Corp's The Daily for iPad offered the first glimpse at Office for iPad on Tuesday. Author Matt Hickey got to spend some time with a "working prototype" of the productivity suite, which features Microsoft's trademark "Metro" design found on Windows Phone and the forthcoming Windows 8.

"Word, Excel and PowerPoint files can be created and edited locally and online," he said. "But it's unclear if Microsoft will support other Office apps at launch or at all."

The design side of the project is said to have already wrapped up, but an exact launch date remains unknown. It was said that the project "could be released in the coming weeks."

Update: In a statement to The New York Times, Microsoft has said that the original story "is based on inaccurate rumors and speculation." The company declined to give any further comment.

The original report cited anonymous sources in adding that Microsoft Office for iPad will "soon be submitted to Apple for approval." No pricing or other details were provided.

While Office is coming to iPad, Microsoft reportedly has no plans to bring its suite to competing tablets running the Google Android mobile operating system. The Redmond, Wash., company is also said to be planning an update to its existing OneNote application for iOS to add a Metro user interface.

The Daily first indicated last November that Microsoft was preparing a new version of its Office suite for Apple's iPad. In addition, an updated version of Office for OS X Lion users was also revealed, and is expected to become available on Apple's Mac App Store.

Apple currently offers its competing iWork productivity suite on the iPad as three standalone applications. Pages, Keynote and Numbers for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are each available for $9.99 on the App Store.

Nice job MS. Price it competitively and you should be golden. Would be nice if they make an iPhone version, but I can understand if it's iPad only due to screen size.

Um, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote have the exact same features on the iPhone as the iPad. There's no reason for Office to be iPad only.

Pricing will be very interesting. Apple wins no matter what. Even if MS prices it the same as iWork ($9.99/app), Apple gets a 30% cut (or perhaps MS can negotiate that lower). But MS is used to making $150 or more for the suite.

Um, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote have the exact same features on the iPhone as the iPad. There's no reason for Office to be iPad only.

Pricing will be very interesting. Apple wins no matter what. Even if MS prices it the same as iWork ($9.99/app), Apple gets a 30% cut (or perhaps MS can negotiate that lower). But MS is used to making $150 or more for the suite.

That's a little febrile. MS makes $0 currently and risks ceding dominance in iOS to Apple.

This move is undoubtedly in acquiescence to the many business users who require a hermetic solution to compatibility with Windows PC cohorts. It's vital and important and underscores Apple's current dominance in the tablet space...

That's a little febrile. MS makes $0 currently and risks ceding dominance in iOS to Apple.

This move is undoubtedly in acquiescence to the many business users who require a hermetic solution to compatibility with Windows PC cohorts. It's vital and important and underscores Apple's current dominance in the tablet space...

That was my first thought, acquiescence. Not holding back their crown jewels for their own tablet is either that or amazing faith in what hardware they have coming one day.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

I am sure it will sell, and sell in numbers. But far too many 9-5 types have had a few years using iPads, sometimes unsupported, in the office with complete success. Onenote is helping remind people who Microsoft was, and I am sure most will return to MSOffice (now in touch form) as a long lost lover, but how many people understand that they just don't need it? The time period where the iPad existed with no MSOffice is time MS will never get back...

OSX, because making UNIX user friendly is easier than debugging windows.

Good to hear that MS Office won't be on the Android platform. That could definitely slow down Android growth and keep the Android tablet market share down low. That could also help WP7 growth as consumers wean themselves away from Android devices.

With the upcoming SkyDrive release for Mac, this seems like a better all-in-one Cloud synched product than the current market offerings, which rely on DropBox or Evernote connectivity. That being said, I believe Microsoft will charge their usually premium pricing (probably $20 for each product).

As for the stability and usability of the products, well, that is another story.

I understand some of the comments were written with a bit of sarcasm but why do people feel we have to go back to business as usual by getting any software from Microsoft? What part of "Think Different" don't people get? Apple put out a good computer in a tablet form factor, why does that mean you have to immediately put all your old garbage on it? Isn't it time to look for something better or are we so entrenched in an archaic word processing program that we can't let loose of our comfortable "pencil?" I read schools aren't teaching cursive anymore not because it isn't a reasonable way to convey information (Windows Office products) but because the method of information sharing has changed. We're past the Microsoft Office days, let go of that disastrous product and move on.

Another means of wresting some data from the iCloud into their own? Given the size of MSO documents and synchronization with other non-iPad business users, they could make up more than enough revenue via extra SkyDrive space.

It is useless for sheep to pass laws outlawing carnivorism when the wolf is of a different mind.

I understand some of the comments were written with a bit of sarcasm but why do people feel we have to go back to business as usual by getting any software from Microsoft? What part of "Think Different" don't people get?

While Keynote is fabulous (I've switched) and Pages adequate (I make-do), I've just got too much invested in Excel (with Numbers being just so-so). So, subject to pricing, this is welcome news.

Office for IOS will be closely tied in with the new Skydrive. Overnight MS could get itself millions of new Skydrive subscribers. They'll want to leverage that connection and surely hope to pull users over to Win8. Not Mac users, of course, but some of those millions of IPhone or iPad toting Windows users. All the more reason for Apple to up the iCloud ante.

I understand some of the comments were written with a bit of sarcasm but why do people feel we have to go back to business as usual by getting any software from Microsoft? What part of "Think Different" don't people get? Apple put out a good computer in a tablet form factor, why does that mean you have to immediately put all your old garbage on it? Isn't it time to look for something better or are we so entrenched in an archaic word processing program that we can't let loose of our comfortable "pencil?" I read schools aren't teaching cursive anymore not because it isn't a reasonable way to convey information (Windows Office products) but because the method of information sharing has changed. We're past the Microsoft Office days, let go of that disastrous product and move on.

You obviously haven't used Numbers for any length of time. Keynote/Pages are great replacements for PowerPoint/Word, but Numbers (for the iPad) is VERY feature poor compared to Excel and conversion of docs from one to the other does not always go smoothly. Just because you have no need for it, doesn't mean that others are 'living in the past' because they do.

This will be a win/win for Apple & MS. MS because it keeps Office as the default Word processor/Presentation/Spreadsheet apps. Apple because it makes the iPad useful to more and pore poeple. It also helps MS by weakening Android. There is room for a second tablet OS. In fact, there needs to be one, by doing this, MS is making it iOS & Windows 8 for business people, and further marginalizing Android (on tablets). Strategically it's a nice move on their part.

I'm betting the Office team had this ready to go from almost day one. I'll wager that the management at Redmond held it back until they saw that their efforts on the tablet were going to be delayed. Once Apple delivered solid mobile versions of the iWork suite the pressured mounted. And with the huge iPad market and its continuing growth, they no longer could justify the loss in revenue from what is one of their three main cash cows.

Whether they waited too long, and allowed too many iPad users to get-along without Office in the enterprise is still to be determined. However, they are betting heavily on the Metro interface, and this make work in their favor (or just the opposite if it sux) to build some mindshare for the smartphone as well.

Android, well, given the wide variety of hardware, I'm sure that Redmond doesn't want to open that bag of hurt from a performance perspective. And if it is only tablet oriented - there isn't a strong enough presence to justify risking negative experiences. Perhaps once Google starts enforcing hardware standards and...well we know how that will end don't we.

If you are going to insist on being an ass, at least demonstrate the intelligence to be a smart one

It's about time they made some software for the iOS world. They've been asleep at the wheel, along with Intuit (think Quicken, QuickBooks etc..). Why these large companies haven't created iOS software before is in my opinion insane - and the stock holders of these companies should be asking loudly - why it's taken so long. Years of lost sales & market share.

Microsoft has a cash cow - Microsoft Office. 80% of the world feels that they must buy Office in order to have a working computer. Of course in reality it's not necessary anymore, and just a matter of time until the free open source versions catch on.

Intuit is in the same boat, why haven't they created a QuickBooks and Quicken counterpart. There are tons of smaller companies making apps for the iOS platform, but they're just asking to lose market share if they don't create some kind of sales/POS for the iOS that syncs w/ QuickBooks.

Office for IOS will be closely tied in with the new Skydrive. Overnight MS could get itself millions of new Skydrive subscribers. They'll want to leverage that connection and surely hope to pull users over to Win8. Not Mac users, of course, but some of those millions of IPhone or iPad toting Windows users. All the more reason for Apple to up the iCloud ante.

I agree 100% that this is what they are up to ... time for a counter plan Apple ...

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

While I can certainly understand the snarky Microsoft comments from long time Mac users who suffered at the hands of the evil empire there are now millions of iPad users who never knew this evil existed. They will likely jump at the thought of Office for iPad. Whether MSFT eventually releases it for Android is another question. I think MSFT sees Android as more of a threat than iOS. It's a battle between the two "good enough" camps that cater to the discount crowd.

I understand some of the comments were written with a bit of sarcasm but why do people feel we have to go back to business as usual by getting any software from Microsoft? What part of "Think Different" don't people get? Apple put out a good computer in a tablet form factor, why does that mean you have to immediately put all your old garbage on it? Isn't it time to look for something better or are we so entrenched in an archaic word processing program that we can't let loose of our comfortable "pencil?" I read schools aren't teaching cursive anymore not because it isn't a reasonable way to convey information (Windows Office products) but because the method of information sharing has changed. We're past the Microsoft Office days, let go of that disastrous product and move on.

You do realize that the majority of iPad users have PCs at home, don't you? Until Apple makes iWorks for the PC, pages, numbers, and keynote are pretty much stand alone programs for these folks. Having MS office on the iPad is great. If this had been announced two weeks ago, I'm sure it would have tipped my friends wife to the iPad from the Transformer Prime.

Pricing will be very interesting. Apple wins no matter what. Even if MS prices it the same as iWork ($9.99/app), Apple gets a 30% cut (or perhaps MS can negotiate that lower). But MS is used to making $150 or more for the suite.

Why should Microsoft give Apple 30% of the selling price?

Oh, that's right. iPads will only run software bought direct from Apple. Never mind.